Pressure affects mileage and safety in your car. It changes due to slow leaks, seasonal changes in temperature, and seemingly just because. With the change from summer to fall, your pressures will be falling. Keeping proper pressures will save you gas and prevent uneven tire wear.
Any pressure gauge will work. Modern digital ones are cheap and reliable. You should always check your tires cold if you can, in my truck pressure varies by as much as 5 psi between cold and hot. You have two sources for recommended tire pressure. The first is the maximum pressure listed on your tire. The second is the sticker on the door jamb, or the owners manual. The best pressure is somewhere between the two. The tires on my truck have a maximum pressure of 51 psi. With them that hard the ride is really rough. The sticker on the door jamb says 35 psi cold. Splitting the difference gives me 43. That's a good starting point. I've found that if I go just a bit lower, 41, I don't lose any fuel economy and I think the ride is a bit better. Experiment within safe ranges. You don't need an air compressor to add air. An upright bike pump will work. It will take quite a while to add much air. It's a workout, but it's cheaper and less likely to break. You can also drive to the gas station to air up. Takes a few minutes. That's nice sometimes.
So when you need a few minutes away from the chaos, tell your wife that you need to go check the tire pressure. It's probably the least made up excuse you have to get a few moments of peace.
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